Orienteering Australia Awards

DAVID HOGG

The 2023 awards for services to Australian orienteering, and inductions to the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame were presented during the Australian 3-Days. The role of the former Hall of Fame Selection Committee has been extended to include determination of the three OA service awards. Those awards are the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering, the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching and the David Hogg Medal for Services to Event Management. With four of the former Hall of Fame Selection Committee members having served their maximum term of eight years, a new Awards Committee for 2023-24 was appointed consisting of Bruce Arthur (Chair), Greg Barbour, Jenny Bourne, Clare Hawthorne (Board representative) and Robin Uppill. Other OA awards presented at Easter were the 2022 Silva Medal (see March issue for full results) and the 2022 Athlete of the Year, as determined by an Electoral College consisting of OA officials involved with elite orienteering in FootO and MTBO.

Orienteering Australia congratulates all its annual award winners.

Orienteering Australia HALL of FAME

The following orienteers were announced as 2023 inductees to the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame:

Athlete Division: Tracy Marsh. General Division: Nick Dent and Don Young

Membership of the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame is the crowning achievement of a sporting career in Orienteering in Australia and represents the highest level of peer recognition for an individual’s contribution to Australian orienteering. The Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame recognises and promotes the outstanding sporting achievements of our athletes and officials to acknowledge the rich sporting heritage of Australian orienteering. It is an illustrious group of Australia’s most respected and celebrated orienteers that span the test of time. They are the best of the best, who through their achievements have made a significant contribution to our sporting history and have inspired others to achieve their potential in both sport and life.

Hall of Fame – Athlete Division

TRACY MARSH (nee Bluett) (NSW)

Tracy Marsh (nee Bluett) has had an outstanding international orienteering career extending over fourteen years (1991 to 2005). She represented Australia at the World Championships in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2005, her best results being:

• 6th in AUS Relay team WOC 1997, Norway

• 7th in AUS Relay team WOC 1999, Scotland

• 13th in Middle Distance WOC 2005, Japan

• 14th in Middle Distance WOC 1999, Scotland

• 19th in Long Distance WOC 1999, Scotland

She represented Australia at the Junior World Championships in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1995.

At the national level, Tracy won the W21E class at the Australian (Long Distance) Championships in 1994 and 1999, and at the Australian Middle Distance Championships in 2004.

She has represented New South Wales as a member of the state orienteering team many times, both as a junior and as a senior, with many wins in individual and relay competitions.

Tracy still competes successfully at a high level in community orienteering. Her most recent national achievement was winning W45A at the 2022 Australian 3-Days.

Tracy also gives back to the sport of orienteering through contributions to local and state initiatives for orienteer development, in particular female orienteers. Nationally she is currently a member of OA’s Senior Selection Panel.

Hall of Fame – General Division NICK DENT (NSW)

Nick Dent has contributed for over 25 years to coaching, controlling and event management at international, national, state and club level. He has played an important role in Australian orienteering. Nick was the Coach for the Australian Junior World Championships team in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, OA Head Coach in 2014-15 and OA High Performance Manager in 2013-15. At the international level, he served as Carnival Director for the 2009 World Masters Orienteering Championships and the 2011 Oceania Championships. He was the Senior IOF Event Adviser for the 2017 World Masters Orienteering Championships in Auckland, New Zealand, and Controller for the 2018 Oceania Sprint Championships in Wagga Wagga. He was the Teams Liaison Officer for the 2007 Junior World Orienteering Championships in Dubbo.

At the national level, Nick was Event Director/Controller for the Australian 3Days in 2014 and 2021, and was Organiser for the 1993 Australian Championships, when he also mapped the Relay area. At the state level, Nick was part of the driving force behind the original Mountain Devils Orienteering Club based in the NSW Blue Mountains in the 1980s. After moving to the NSW Central Coast in the 1990s, Nick joined Central Coast Orienteers, and instigated the club’s popular Summer Series. He has also been setter, controller or organiser of the club’s NSW State League competitions for many years. He was the NSW Schools Team Coach from 1998 to 2002.

Nick received the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering in 2009 (jointly with Hilary Wood), and the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching in 2015.

Looking to the future, he is the Event Director leading the organising team for the 2024 Australian Championships in Armidale, New South Wales.

Hall of Fame – General Division

DON YOUNG (WA)

Don was a founding member of the Orienteering Association of WA (OAWA) in 1974, and soon took on major leadership roles. In 1979 he was elected OAWA President and held that position until 1984. Under his leadership the OAWA Council was expanded, and substantial improvements in mapping, coaching and competition organisation took place. During that period, Western Australia conducted its first multi-day national event, the 1984 Spring West 3 Day. In 1998 Don was made a Life Member of Orienteering WA for his outstanding services to orienteering in WA over a lengthy period.

Don made a significant contribution to administration in orienteering at a national level. He was a member of the (then) Orienteering Federation of Australia (OFA) Council from 1981 to 1997, chaired the Magazine Committee, was Vice President (Development) and finally OFA President from 1994 to 1997. Don was the first OFA President who was not from NSW, Victoria or the ACT. While possessing a national and world view, Don was experienced in the unique challenges facing the “more remote” states in a country the size of Australia. In the year of his election to the position of OFA President, Don joined a newly formed national Sponsorship Working Group and advanced the convening of an annual conference for officers working in the field of orienteering development. In the following year, he facilitated the introduction of Affiliate Membership at reduced rates to enable Street O participants to

Other Awards

Silva Award for Services to Orienteering

HELEN O’CALLAGHAN (NSW)

Helen O’Callaghan’s outstanding leadership and collaboration at all levels, including across state boundaries, are underpinned by her passion to increase participation in orienteering, especially juniors. Her story started at the local level in establishing a new regional orienteering club, Bush’n’Beach Orienteering Club, based at Coffs Harbour, NSW. It continues today through her celebrated efforts to enthuse junior orienteers at all levels. She is specially recognised for her drive for a resurgent national initiative to involve more junior orienteers in the social, developmental and competitive experience of the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships.

Helen was appointed manager of the NSW Junior Squad in 2020. She set about doing the job with gusto, developing many initiatives, and that continues into 2023. She initiated and developed many things for the juniors join state associations – a long lasting legacy in that the format has become very popular, bringing orienteering to an urban community. Another significant initiative, strongly supported by Don, was the establishment of a Working Group to prepare an environmental code of practice for orienteering. including Zoom coaching sessions and a Zoom competition for NSW juniors to keep them motivated during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Don Young readily recognised the importance of the OFA’s presence on the international scene. He strongly advocated for, and supported, OFA personnel in their roles at the International Orienteering Federation (IOF), athletes representing Australia in international competition, and team coaches and managers of both JWOC and WOC teams. In 1995, as President, Don represented the OFA at the IOF meeting held at the World Orienteering Championships in Germany. He advocated forAustralia's 1996 bid to secure the World Orienteering Championships in 2001, although the bid proved unsuccessful, and for JWOC 2007 that was subsequently awarded to Australia – the first time the event left Europe.

Don was always interested in ways to enhance regional development. He competed in the first six series of the (Asia) Pacific Orienteering Championships and represented Australia on a number of occasions in the Australia–New Zealand Challenge. Don’s commitment to and vision for a significant Australian orienteering regional and world presence was clearly recognised and appreciated by people at all levels of the orienteering community.

During Don’s term as President, MTBO was recognised as an important discipline in Australia. Its development led to the establishment of an OFA Committee for MTBO and set the foundations for international success in the discipline. The first Australian MTBO Championships were held in Victoria in 1998, and the second World MTBO Championships took place in Australia in 2004. In 1997, Don Young was the recipient of the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering.

She is very passionate about getting juniors involved in orienteering. She has held introductory courses, training and events for juniors at schools and over the school holidays.

2022 saw immense efforts to encourage, develop and support NSW orienteering juniors by a now experienced team of committed volunteers coordinated by Helen. The Junior Development Team was awarded the 2022 ONSW President’s Award, which recognises a member or members who have made an outstanding contribution to the furtherance of orienteering in NSW.Helen received that award individually in 2021.

Helen was instrumental in the planning, promotion and conduct of increased junior orienteers’ participation in the 2022 Australian Orienteering Schools Championships experience, the 2022 All Australian Junior Development Team. She continues to work in collaboration with colleagues from other states to build on that experience for upcoming championships, essential for the future of orienteering in Australia.

Helen’s efforts to increase enthusiasm for orienteering are not limited to juniors, and she is considered a powerhouse in her club, particularly in welcoming and assisting newcomers. Even when she broke her ankle, Helen was always there at the registration tent offering her advice and assistance.

When it came to hosting and organising larger events over the years, such as QB3 in 2016, again it was Helen at the forefront. She took these events on with enthusiasm, and they ran like clockwork.

David Hogg Medal for Services to Event Management

CHRISTINE BROWN (TAS)

Christine Brown has a long history of contribution to the staging of orienteering events in Tasmania, in Australia and internationally. Most recently Christine was the Event Director of the very successful 2023 Oceania Orienteering Championships at St Helens, Tasmania.

In 2021, after the Australian Orienteering Championships to be held at St Helens had been postponed twice and finally cancelled, Orienteering Tasmania made the decision to host the Oceania 2023 Championships, and confirmed this decision in January 2022. With very short lead time, Christine took on the role of Event Director, managed five smaller teams and dozens of volunteers, and delivered a successful and enjoyable event that hosted over 600 orienteers, including more than 30 from countries other than Australia.

As a Senior IOF Event Adviser, she served in that capacity at the Oceania Championships in New Zealand in 2013 and 2017, and the World Games in 2009 in Kaoshiung, Chinese Taipei, and in 2013 in Cali, Colombia. She was Technical Director for the 2015 Oceania Championships and World Cup in Tasmania and the 2007 Junior World Orienteering Championships in Dubbo.

Christine was Course Planner for the 2020 Australian Middle Distance Championships, Round 4 of the 2016 National Orienteering League (a World Ranking Event) and the 1992 Forestry Commission Classic Day 1 (and Course Vetter on Day 4). She has been a course planner or controller for at least one Tasmanian state event and multiple local/ club events every year for more than 25 years.

Athlete of the Year 2022

ASTON KEY (VIC)

TEXT BY BLAIR TREWIN

Orienteering Australia’s Athlete of the Year for 2022 was Aston Key. It was another outstanding year for Aston at both international and national levels, and he was a clear winner of the award which has returned now that the international and national competition calendars have returned to normal.

The highlight of his season was his fifth place in the individual sprint at the World Orienteering Championships in Denmark, building on his 2019 world junior title (which he missed the chance to defend in 2020). This is the best individual result ever by an Australian man in the World Championships; only Hanny Allston has achieved a better result. He also reached the semi-finals in the knockout sprint, a new medal event in 2022. At the World University

Silva Award for Services to Coaching

JON McCOMB (TAS)

Jon McComb has made an invaluable contribution to orienteering in Tasmania through his coaching activities, particularly over the past 6 years during which time, Jon has been the State Coaching CoOrdinator for Orienteering Tasmania and coach for the Tasmanian Schools Team.

In these roles Jon has offered an extensive program of coaching activities year round, ranging from regular multi-day camps, weekly fitness training and an intensive program of Saturday technical training sessions, particularly targeting the development of the Tasmanian Schools Team.

In his coaching capacity Jon supports and mentors both juniors and seniors, regularly arranging training sessions to suit key focus areas (both bush and sprint) and is invariably available at events for reviewing performances and providing advice.

Jon has also worked with local Tasmanian orienteers to offer coaching development and accreditation opportunities. His structured approach to technical training has been particularly beneficial to emerging coaches and provided a range of opportunities for them to develop their coaching skills.

Championships, he was fourth in the middle distance and fifth in the sprint.

The sprint formats were the major focus of Aston’s international season, but at national level he also had many excellent results in the forest. He won all three national individual championships and led Victoria to the relay title. He also took overall honours at the Australian 3-Days and won all but two of the year’s National Orienteering League events.

Aston also started 2023 well with a sweep of the Oceania titles in January. Injury has interrupted his season since, causing him to miss Easter and the Sydney Sprint Weekend, but he is hopeful of being back in time to compete in the World Championships in Switzerland in July.